Poison of the Past
by WriteWithFeeling
Summary: Steve Rogers is trying to get on with his life, but when a girl, bleeding and nearly dead appears behind him, his and his new friends' lives are changed drastically. Never before have there been so many secrets and lies, betrayals and untold stories amongst the group. When new threats start to destroy all they've created, they find themselves discovering the true meaning of life.
1. Chapter 1

**Heyy! This is my first fanfiction, so I hope that it isn't too bad! **

**All characters (except those you don't know :P ) belong to J.K. Rowling and Marvel respectively!**

**Please remember that while I love and completely embrace all criticism for this story, (including grammar corrections, ideas, pros and cons about the story/characters etc.), if you have nothing nice to say, please don't say it at all!**

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The dry pounding of footsteps hitting the pavement sounded out throughout the narrow alleyway. The runner strode ahead, head held high, sweat slowly trickling down his face, his clear blue eyes showing none of the weariness that his own body felt. Steve Rogers breathed in deeply through his nose and shut his eyes, shut off his memories, and tried to shut off his thoughts to the past. No. He mentally berated himself. He mustn't remember. He forced himself _not_ to remember. The pain was all to great otherwise.

Ever since he had been discovered and been brought up to the surface of a somehow familiar, but extraordinary new world, his life had changed dramatically. Suddenly there was no more Peggy Carter, the love of his life, no more Second World War, and dare he say it, no more Red Skull. He chuckled bitterly to himself. At least there was one good thing that had come out of this whole mess.

His thoughts flickered back to the recent occurances. It had been five days since the world had nearly been taken over by aliens and, truth be told, he was exhausted by the whole matter, although he tried not to show it. Especially to that sarcastic weirdo, Tony Stark. He hadn't believed his own eyes when Stark had nearly sacrificed himself to save his country and the world. Steve chuckled again, but this time, not so bitterly. His relationship with his co-mate had definitely gotten into the 'just friends' stage and he was very relieved as a result. Thinking up snappy comebacks was extremely taxing.

He shook his head ruefully as his short trip through the alleyway came to an end and Steve thankfully ran to a slow stop. He checked his Pedometer. 45kms. He analysed the tiny numbers critically. It was alright, he decided, but tomorrow, he would try for 50. He slowly walked through the streets of New York, letting his body cool down after the long run. Being 3am in the morning, it was the one time when the streets of the city were nearly quiet, especially, in the back streets where Steve was now slowly walking. He strode up to a pair of teenage girls, both hideously drunk and giggling hysterically.

One, a black haired one, tripped over in one of her ridiculously high-heeled shoes, but before she could hit the ground, Steve swiftly stepped forward and caught her, the unmistakable smell of alcohol penetrating his nose. He winced inwardly at the smell. The girl, meanwhile, stared up at him, dumbstruck, before an incredible smile lit up her pale face, as if she were unable to believe her own good luck. Steve looked past the smile and into her bloodshot eyes and realised just how drunk the black haired girl was. He set her gently on her feet. "You should go home," he said absent-mindedly, not really looking at the flirtatious glances that the girl was sending his way.

In reply to his statement, the girl just looked up at him and fluttered her eyelashes daintily. "Ah, y-yes. We w-werejust g-going to do th-that now. C-care to j-join us?" she slurred. Steve flashed a quick, but cold smile at the girl.

"I'm afraid I'm pre-occupied at the moment," his voice devoid of emotion. The girl looked up at him, and a brief flicker of surprise ran past her face.

"O-okay," she said unsteadily and looked at him pleadingly. "I'll j-just b-be going n-now."

"Alright. Good morning to you", and Steve abrubtly stepped away from them and started pacing away, leaving the two astonished drunks behind him. Soon, their giggling was once again all that could be heard on the forsaken street.

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Hermione Granger shot a spell behind her, everything falling into slow motion as she dived to one side to avoid another spell coming in her direction. She reached the safety of the rocks just in time, as the unmistakable green light of the killing curse sailed past her shoulder. Exhaustion racked her body and uncontrollable tears trailed down her dirt ridden cheeks. She closed her eyes and mental images slashed across her mind like fire. _The Golden Cup of Helga Hufflepuff mangling __in her hands as she stabbed the evil from it. Ron falling to a burst of green light._ More tears made their way down her pale cheeks. She had just seen her best friend and lover fall lifeless beside her and the grief was trying to destroy her, take over her body and soul, but she managed to suppress it. Just.

A death eater apparated in front of her and Hermione Granger was once again fighting for her life. Five draining minutes later, the deatheater keeled over lifeless in front of her, and she sighed with evident relief, as she realised that the fight was over. She tried to take a step forward, but her knees gave way beneath her, her world almost falling into a black hole. _No!_ Hermione screamed at herself. She chouldn't fall to the blackness. Not now after she had given so much, fought for so long.

With evident mental strain and strength, Hermione forced herself to get up. She had to get up. On her feet. She had to... to help Harry. Her mind was screaming at her to rest, to lay down and forget the whole battle, but she managed to get up, nearly collapsing again. Through hazy vision, Hermione vaguely saw Harry and Lord Voldemort shooting hexes and spells of unspeakable power at each other. As she watched, the Dark Lord shot a curse at the same time as Harry shot a curse at him.

The spells seemed to drift past each other in Hermione's adrenaline filled mind, seeming to pass in slow motion through the air. Everything seemed to stop as the Dark Lord's spell hit Harry squarely in the chest and Harry sailed as though he was a ragdoll, lifeles and cold, through the air. Hermione didn't watch as the same thing happened to Lord Voldemort; her eyes were only for Harry. Her mouth opened in an endless, silent scream as the world she realised what had happened.

Harry Potter, her best friend and a big brother to her, was dead. And the Dark Lord, the darkest, crulest wizard that the world had ever seen, was dead with him.

Time once again slowed down, and Hermione watched as the fighting slowly ceased, no one really sure whether to celebrate that the Dark Lord was dead or to mourn the death of Harry Potter, the Chosen One. Hermione, her body battered behind people's worst nightmares and her mind cluttered with grief and horror, couldn't take it any more. Her last recognisable thought was to apparate and as the ground slowly sank towards her, she did the only thing that she could properly do. So Hermione followed her own advice and apparated.

* * *

Steve was enjoying the last of his walk back to headquarters. Although the streets of New York had properly woken up, the sky was a clear blue and a faint wind blew all of the smog away. He closed his eyes and savoured the moment. It wasn't going to get much better than this. Suddenly, disturbing his mental peace, a faint crack resonated throughout the air. Steve's eyes opened abrubtly, the memories of gun shots coming back to him. His eyes surveyed the scene in front of him, darting over the mounting traffic and the pathway in front of him. Nothing. It was probably his own paranoia.

He breathed in deeply, a smile barely touching his features as his thoughts slowly went back to the beautiful day. He heard a gasping noise behind him, and he swiftly realised his mistake. He hadn't checked behind him. He mentally rebuked himself for his forgetfulness. In a war, if you heard a noise, you looked around to find the source of it. Steve immediately turned on his heel and the sight of a girl, lying on the ground, filled his immediate vision. She was dirty and covered in blood. And Steve realized that it was h_er own blood_.

Without warning, Steve abrubtly turned to where the girl lay; she was as still as death. As he ran to her side, his mind automatically analysed everything about her. She seemed to be of an average height, and underneath the grime, her hair was a mousy brown. It was messily tied back, with streaks of blood matting it and making the long strands stick to her feverish face. Her skin was pale; almost lifeless looking. Gently, Steve reached out a hand and moved some of the girl's hair and placed two fingure on her neck, feeling for a pulse.

Steve waited anxiously and tensley as he waited to recieve something, anything to tell him that the girl was still alive. What seemed like an hour later, he felt the tiny, but incredibly significant movement that let him know that the girl was still fighting for control of her life.

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**Good? Bad? Average? Please let me know! I hope that you enjoyed reading the first chapter! There will be more!**

**WriteWithFeeling xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey again! Thankyou to all of the people who reviewed! I'm glad you like it so far :) I'll try and update every week, give or take a few days (such as this chapter) :) **

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**Chapter 2**

The first thought to pass through Steve's mind was, "Where did she come from?" He was quite sure that there had been no one behind him. His mind flashed back to several minutes ago. _He had turned around to look at the mesmerizing view of New York City, as the sun stretched it's rays through the cramped buildings. He had felt somewhat amazed that a city this big and compacted could actually look truly beautiful, and he had marvelled at the sight of it_.

But he hadn't looked down at the path at all. Was it possible that he could have missed the seriously injured girl that lay now as though dead before him now?

Steve doubted it. Surely he would have heard her rasping breaths metres away and surely he would have noticed blood or _something_. Another thought jumped into his already frenzied mind. What if he was losing his powers? A feeling of dread settled over him. He had been under the ice a long time after all... He shook his head and tried to push the unwelcome thoughts out of his mind. He had to focus.

Steve redirected his complete attention back to the injured girl lying in front of him. It was now quite clear that the girl was still alive, but only just. Steve made up his mind. He had to take her back to headquarters. It was the only place he could think of and she would be tended to much faster at headquarters than at some hospital. At least his colleagues would be able to look after her properly there.

His mind made up, Steve gently slid his arms underneath the girl's fragile body and raised her up carefully, resting her lolling head against his upper arm, ignoring how uncomfortably cold her pale skin was against his. Checking one last time that she was secure, Steve started to run.

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The first sound that Hermione heard was the uneven sound of a mechanical like beeping, a strange piercing sound that seemed to penetrate deep into her mind. Hermione winced inwardly at the noise. Why did it have to be so loud?

Suddenly, a bright light was shone at her eyelids, the light trying to force it's way in, and, to Hermione's growing annoyance, an irritating, frantic sound of a voice started repeating, "Miss? _Miss? _Can you hear me?"

To try and get rid of the horrible din, Hermione blinked sluggishly, recieving the full extent of the torchlight in her eyes. She shut them again hurriedly, temporarily blinded, but the voice still didn't go away. "Come on Miss! Keep them open for me! I promise I'll turn out the light. Just keep them open!"

Hermione didn't want to, but she reluctantly followed the command and slowly opened her brown eyes again. This time, the blinding brightness of the light wasn't so bad, but she still almost sighed in relief when the small light was finally switched off. She blinked a couple of times, attempting to get rid of the stiffness and colored blotches in her eyes; noticing how sore it was to carry out the simple action.

As her vision gradually cleared, a foreign face slowly came into focus and a man with olive skin, brown eyes and big, white teeth filled the extent of her vision. The man was staring anxiously into her own eyes and Hermione shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, wishing desperately that she was somewhere else. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice soft and worried sounding.

Hermione tried to form words to answer his question, but her throat was parched and dry. The young doctor standing above her seemed to realise this and he reached across to a table placed beside the white hospital bed to where a small glass of water was standing.

He picked it up and raised it gently to Hermione's lips. Hermione greedily drank the pure water, ignoring the humiliation of not being able to do it herself. When the glass was half empty, Hermione leant back against her pillows with a contented sigh to let the doctor know that she was finished. The doctor smiled and nodded approvingly at her. He was suddenly disturbed as a small beeping sound rang throughout the room and he glanced down at a silver band sitting on his wrist. An emotion that looked close to annoyance passed briefly across his face. "I'll be right back," he said, and abruptly left the room.

Now finally alone, Hermione at last had a proper chance to look around her surroundings. The room was white, stark white, with no decoration on the walls, except for a single painting of a vase, with dead flowers painted very realistically in it.

What was in the room, however, was a different matter entirely. Machines, of different shapes and sizes, were placed throughout the cramped area, all with wires and leads leading... straight to her. Panic began to settle itself in Hermione's mind, her inquisitiveness asking questions that she should have asked herself before. _Damn! _She swore mentally.

It was clear that she was in a hospital... but where _was_ this hospital? And _why_ was she in this hospital? Suddeny, everything in her mind suddenly clicked into place. With a horrible feeling of dread settling over her, Hermione, for the first time, looked down at her body.

Clear tubes made their way underneath her nightgown and an I.V. was connected to both of her forearms. Hermione's first feeling was one of relief; her injuries were not as bad as she first thought. But then she looked further and saw the the fresh scar of 'Mudblood', etched deeply into her skin. She saw the slowly healing burns and brusies covering the length of her arms, and Hermione was somewhat glad of the white bandages that covered the worst of her injuries.

Hermione closed her eyes and felt a tear trace it's way down her cheek as her last memories from the Battle of Hogwarts came flooding back to her. _She remembered standing in the castle courtyard when she had... had seen..._ Another tear made it's way down her cheek. No. She wasn't going to think about it. She was the smartest person in her year after all. What would all her peers and friends think if they saw her breaking down into a sniffling wreck. A wry smile briefly stretched itself over her face.

She wiped the single drop of water away hurriedly and took a deep shuddering breath, memories still flooding her mind without her being able to stop them. _She had suddenly felt a horrible sense of utter despair, and she just knew then that she had to get away._

_Away from the death that plagued the castle corridors and away from the grief that was determined to destroy her, to shatter her spirit. She then remembered apparating almost afterwards, but without any sort of mental destination and after that she remembered... nothing._ Hermione shivered under the thin hospital covers and desperately tried not to lose herself to the panic and grief that was planting itself in her mind.

Hermione attempted to think rationally. She had to answer the questions that kept plaguing her curious mind. _Where was she? Where had she been found? Who had found her? How much had the people looking after her guessed and how much had they found out? Had they taken her belongings?_

Hermione rapidly tried to reassure herself. They might have found her wand in one of her back pockets, but she vainly hoped that to the muggles it looked like a worthless stick, a nice stick all the same, but just a regular, boring stick.

The beaded bag... Well the bag was different. A humourless smile touched her dry lips. To muggles it was a normal bag; if they opened it, they would have found it empty and completely uninteresting. But to magical folk, it was a bag with an Undectectable Extension Charm placed intricately on it. Hermione smiled again. They _definitely_ would have let her keep the bag.

The door suddenly banged open, and Hermione's thoughts were instantly scattered.

"Well, well, well. The stranger has finally woken up!" Hermione looked up to see the source of the booming voice and saw a dark skinned man with a black eyepatch striding towards her. He was smiling but Hermione noticed that the seemingly bright smile didn't reach his eyes, leaving them cold and icy.

He helped himself to a seat on the edge of her hospital bed without asking and produced a small torch. Much to Hermione's disgust, he turned it on and flashed it in her eyes.

"How are you feeling? I must say, we _were_ surprised when Steve brought you in and most certaintly surprised when we analysed your injuries." Hermione blinked. There was something about his voice that made Hermione feel uneasy.

The man pocketed the little torch again, and Hermione almost sighed with relief, but she stopped herself. Hermione got the feeling that this man wasn't one who would normally sympathise or take pity on one's personal problems.

The man got off the bed and started walking slowly away from Hermione, his hands folded behind his back.

"My name is Nick Fury and I have several things that I want to make clear to you. I don't stand for crap and I don't stand for lies. We've analysed all of your belongings and your injuries most carefully." Nick Fury swung himself around to face Hermione, his face completely cold and menacing, his one eye seeming to try and penetrate deep into her soul. His voice had now lost the smiling, bantering tone.

"You may be weak and acting dumb now, but when you're strong, you _will _answer our questions." Nick Fury walked up to Hermione again, a fake smile appearing on his face once again.

"Well, it's been a pleasure Miss... I'm dreadfully sorry, but I seem to have forgotten a very important question. What is your name?"

Hermione spoke for the first time that day. "Granger, sir", she said, looking Nick Fury straight in the eye. "My name is Hermione Granger".

"Thankyou". Nick Fury looked thoughtful for a moment before he turned and left, leaving Hermione to contemplate what had just been said.

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**What did you think? Good, bad? Average? Please let me know! I hope you enjoyed reading it! Look out for the next chapter!**

**WriteWithFeeling xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Sorry about the slight delay in this chapter being published, but now that it's the school holidays here in Germany, hopefully I will be able to update a bit quicker. Thank you everyone for their reviews and I'm glad that you like this story! :)**

**As usual, all characters belong to J.K. Rowling and Marvel respectively, except for any character that I own or make up :)**

**Mistra Rose: Thank you for your awesome review. Your idea was inspirational and I hope that I've explained what you wanted okay :)**

**aliceAmnesia: Thank you for your equally awesome review! Your review got me thinking and I have carefully considered what you wrote. Your requests will be answered in the oncoming chapters, so keep reading!**

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Nick Fury walked down the corridor, his mind racing. _Hermione Granger_. He kept saying the girl's name over and over in his head and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had heard the name before.

Well, he thought. At least he _had_ a name. He would be able to look her up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced computer network.

On it, they could find anyone in the world, find everything out about that person and even monitor their every footstep. He smiled humourlessly to himself. Hermione Granger would sure get a surprise when she found out how much he already knew about her.

Nick reached a door made of steel in the long hallway and stared at the unlocking mechanism that was attatched to the wall next to the heavy duty door. He entered a complicated pin number into the lock and waited for it to respond. He finally heard the customary beeping sound that told him that he was allowed to continue. Then he bent down to complete the unlocking process and a small blue light shone in a straight line into Nick's eyes, reading them and scanning the correct patterns and shapes.

"Identity confirmed. Nick Fury" . The tinny voice of the door sounded out in a speaker that hung discreetly on the wall and the large door swung open smoothly and silently, revealing a long room with a row of computers, along with their coordinators, stretching down the extended wall. One of the young workers looked around.

"Sir", he greeted with a brief salute and Nick nodded back at him in greeting.

"Agent Neelson", he replied. Agent Neelson looked back at Nick and read the look on his senior's face. A dawn of understanding ran through the young man's eyes.

"We know her name then sir?" Nick walked up to the agent and stood behind him.

"Hermione Granger". Nick felt somewhat curious and perhaps even excitement to find out the details about this strange girl who had befuddled his mind with her injuries and belongings. Nick leaned forward in anticipation as agent Neelson entered the girl's name with quick fingers, the sound of his typing filling the silence that had now come over the entire room.

Everyone had heard of this foreign girl and were, as a result, anxious to see who and _what_ this girl was. Obviously she had be someone important if Nick Fury was interested and maybe even a little bit worried about her. Maybe she was a spy for some terrorist group or some sort of smuggling act, or something even worse.

The high security clearance personnel to S.H.I.E.L.D. had all, of course, been informed about the girl and her ,indestructible stick' and small beaded bag that confused the machinery when scanned, but the people now sitting in this room had only guessed and had heard uncertain and strange rumours. They now waited curiously in their seats, wanting to see what all of the fuss was about.

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath as the computer booted itself to the command that agent Neelson had given it. After what seemed an hour later, the high-tech computer completed it's world wide search. There was only one result. Agent Neelson clicked the mouse, and the tension in the room seemed to audibly scream as everyone waited restlessly for the end result. Hermione Granger was probably just some sort of low down citizen in America, but it was exciting and exhilerating to see the result anyway. The page finally opened up to reveal a page filled with... blanks?

Nick Fury stood and stared at the page in absolute shock as he slowly began to read and register the little amount of information displayed on the computer page, his eyes quickly scanning for any important information that could be extracted.

_Name: Hermione Jean Granger_

_Date of Birth: Unknown_

_Birthplace: Believed to be in Britain, but otherwise unknown._

_Parents: Unknown_

_School History: Hermione Granger was entered in school at age 5, but actual school is unknown. It is known, however, that she was withdrawn from the British school system at age 11 and has not been re-entered._

Nick stared as the information being shown to him was slowly made clear. He frantically kept searching the page over and over, as if trying to find something that couldn't be seen. But there was nothing. Nick tried to keep calm and think rationally, desperately trying to rack his mind for possibilities for why this information was limited.

Maybe the girl had been abducted and tortured. That would at least explain some of her injuries and the horrible jagged scar of the word 'Mudblood' that had been deeply cut into her skin. But it wouldn't explain the girl's strange belongings.

But there had been no reports of her going missing. Maybe her parents had been killed, and she was taken in her sleep. No one would have noticed. But there had been no reports of any murders and she had also been officially withdrawn from the school. It obviously hadn't been a spur of the moment type of thing.

Nick growled in frustration. Everywhere he turned to look for a reason, there was another reason why his original theory wouldn't work. He nearly kicked the chair that agent Neelson was sitting on in anger, but realised that everyone in the room was wtaching him, gauging his reaction.

"Thankyou, agent Neelson". Nick's voice sounding as though he had been half strangled. Then he turned abrubtly on his heel and made for the door, but just before he exited the room, he stared everyone down with his one good eye. The message was clear. Don't reveal what has happened in here, because if you do, you'll pay. And everyone knew that Nick Fury wasn't one for idle threats. With that completed, Nick turned on his heel once again and left the room. Soon, the sound of fingers tapping on keyboards was all that could be heard in the room once again.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff was concentrating wholly on her task at hand. An eye lense had been placed carefully over her right eye and her hands were quickly working underneath her, measuring, setting and cutting parts of the CBU-55 bomb away.

Her eyes flicked over to the timer on the bomb; she had 19 seconds left and counting down. Her heart racing, Natasha slowly raised a pair of tiny scissors and brought them down to where the little red wire had been carefully placed.

She took a deep breath. If she got this wrong, then she would have exactly 3 seconds delay time to take cover before the bomb exploded. Natasha gently put the sharp little edges of the scissor blades to the wire. _Snip!_ Natasha breathed out in relief. She had done it.

She checked the bomb's timer once again, the numbers now flashing where they had been stopped. 9 seconds. It wasn't the best time she had ever recorded but today, with the bomb being difficult and more turbulent, it had been extremely hard to disable.

Natasha removed the eye lens that was pressing against her right eye and set it on the table that was standing next to her. She got up smoothly and dusted herself off. Natasha suddenly heard a clicking noise behind her and her head turned quickly to see what the source of the noise was.

The door to the special chamber she was in swung open to reveal a familiar figure. "Natasha!". The voice of Nick Fury sounded back to her, and, with the knowledge of who had opened the door, Natasha turned back around to the small table, packing up the things she had been using to disarm the CBU-55 bomb.

"Nick", she said, her back still turned to him, and the heavy sound of footsteps sounded back to her as Nick strided openly into the room. He looked at the remnants of the bomb that lay scattered around on the ground.

"Not a bad accomplishment Miss Romanoff". Natasha shrugged.

"It's just another bomb, sir".

"But still, a CBU-55. The most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the U.S.A.'s arsenal". Natasha shrugged again, not fooled by the small talk that Nick was making.

"I trust that there's a reason for you bothering me Nick". Natasha was in no mood for idle chatter. "It had better be a good reason". Nick held out his hands in defense, but took the point. It wasn't a good idea to get on Natasha's bad side. Nick sighed.

"It's about that girl that Steve picked off the street over a week ago".

"Oh, yeah. What about her. Found anything new?" The new girl interested Natasha. What with her strange injuries and even stranger belongings, it was hard not to feel interested.

"We know her name, but that's it. We've looked her up on our computer system and it's come up with nothing. Nothing at all!" Natasha stopped in her tracks and turned around abruptly.

"Nothing?" That was almost unheard of. S.H.I.E.L.D. could find anyone in the world and everything about that person. "Well what are you gonna do about it?" If they could find barely anything on this girl, than no one would. Who on earth _was_ this girl?

"I'm not so sure if I should do anything just yet..." said Nick thoughtfully. "I'm calling a meeting about her. I gathered you heard about the incident the other day?" Natasha nodded. All of the Avengers had heard about it. Tony Stark had been gobsmacked. Natasha smirked at the memory of Tony's face, as though he couldn't believe that a piece of wood was tougher than his most powerful bombs and missiles.

"Her 'indestructible stick' as it seems to be known as. We tried cutting it, but it broke our strongest knives. We tried scanning it and our machines were jammed for three days afterwards." Nick's tone turned dark. "Then, there's the mystery of that small beaded bag that was found with her. Same deal as with the stick. Can't do anything about it, can't find out anything about it, can't cut it open." Nick vented a sigh of frustration and Natasha felt a touch of amusement. It wan't often that you saw Nick Fury lose control over his emotions.

"I don't know what it is about 'Hermione Granger', but there's something about her and we need to find out just what she's concealing. The doctors say that she'll be right again within around four days, and we won't let her leave until she tells us what we need to know". Natasha finally looked Nick in the eye, her curiosity fully aroused with the girl Hermione Granger.

"That, sir, sounds like a plan."

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**What do you think? Good? Bad? Average? Please let me know! **

**I wasn't as happy with this chapter, but I hope that you enjoyed this chapter anyway!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! Thank you everyone for their reviews and support! Special thanks to MistraRose, fictionfanatic1234, dragonfly1339, aliceAmnesia and WitAngerandBravery for their extra special and helpful reviews. I'm glad you all like this story, so I hope you think that this chapter is good! **

**As usual, I don't own these characters. They belong to Marvel and J.K. Rowling respectively.**

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"Bellatrix. I was wondering when you would show yourself." The drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy sounded throughout the seemingly empty room and something or _someone_ shifted in the shadows.

A pale, ravaged and somewhat deranged looking face peered out of the darkness and into the pale moonlight. The stranger looked half mad in the eery moonlight.

"Of course, Lucius. Dirty Molly Weasley was in fact... no match, for someone like me." Her babyish, but deadly voice echoed throughout the room. "She was, after all, just as bad as the mudbloods. Just as weak... just as, _unworthy."_ Bellatrix's voice hissed in the silence, but Lucius Malfoy still stood in the same position, doing nothing. After a moment of silence, her voice slithered through the shadows again. "You know, _Lucius_, you could do it again. Join with the rest of us who remain. We could rule the world. Continue the Dark Lord's noble work and cleanse this putrid world of mudbloods and people who are not worthy to their blood status!" Bellatrix's face seemed to light up with a horrifying glee as she said the horrible words. She looked expectantly at Lucius, waiting to hear his reply.

"I know, Bellatrix, that this is what you desire me to do, but the answer is... no. I can't do it anymore. I've had enough." The broken sound of Lucius's voice hit Bellatrix's ears, and a snarl grew on the mad witch's lips.

"You've grown weak, Lucius," the accusing, malice filled voice filling the hall. It rose, as she continued her torrent of words. "You're a deserter and a coward! I always knew that you'd turn away from the Dark Lord. From me!"

"No! I-I've had enough of all... this. I can't do it anymore. I just can't do it anymore! I nearly lost my son. _Draco_. Nearly lost my wife! Nearly lost myself!" The cracked sobs of the once proud man rang throughout the hall, but Bellatrix no longer cared. To her, it was simple. If he no longer cared, than neither did she.

"I trusted you! I trusted you, Lucius! The Dark Lord trusted you! Everyone trusted you! And this is how you repay everyone who died on our side. By being a deserter! A weak coward!" Bellatrix screamed, her complete and utter rage consuming her. "You've disgraced the name of Malfoy, Lucius! How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!" Bellatrix was now in one of her worst rages, her anger almost seeming to electrify everything in the damp and cold room.

Lucius just stood there, tears trailing down his face, completely wrapped in his own misery and selfishness. He didn't detect the sudden feeling of deadliness that came over the room.

"You traitor! You've dishonoured the Dark Lord's trust in you! Thrown it away!" she screeched, her voice breaching an inhumane sound.

Lucius just stood there, still uncaring and unknowing. He didn't care what Bellatrix had to say anymore. He was through. Finished. He didn't want anything to do with his former master. In fact, he'd rather forget that he was even a part of the former dark group. They had ruined his life. Caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't even realise when the bright green light of the Killing Curse hit him, square in the chest. A look of surprise seemed to pass through the man's face, startling him from his reverie of misery, before it turned slack and white.

And Lucius Malfoy, the former prized number one man of the Dark Lord, fell like a rag doll with a sickening thud, onto the hard stone floor.

Bellatrix panted with exhertion of what she had just done, her eyes bright with the kill. The thought that she had killed her sister's husband hadn't even crossed her mind. In her opinion, Lucius was a traitor and a deserter; not worthy of living any longer than he had to. Which reminded her of other scum that needed attending to.

"Mudblood Granger is next," she hissed.

* * *

Hermione sat on the starched white hospital sheets, crumpling them a bit underneath her slight frame. She sighed and looked around the hospital room which had held her captive for the past two weeks. The room, once filled with machines, was now empty, and the room that had once seemed cramped and small, suddenly seemed too white and large.

The doctors had said that she had healed remarkably quickly, especially since her injuries had been so bad when she had first been brought in. They had said that it was a miracle that she was even alive, and Hermione believed them. After all she had been through, it was hard for herself to believe that she was, in fact, alive.

As the days had gone by in the dreary hospital, Hermione had found herself remembering more and more of the last battle. _Rocks falling, crushing helpless, innocent people, screaming as they lived the last seconds of their lives. _

_Loud wails and cries as people threw spells and realised that their loved ones were dead. Harry Potter falling to the ground, in slow motion, not even seeming to realise that he had been killed._

Hermione shuddered. She didn't want to remember, but she knew, with a horrid certainty, that she had to accept what had happened. She had to accept Ron's death. Harry's death. Her parents deaths. And that, she knew, would be the hardest task of all. Hermione took a deep breath.

Deliberately changing her direction of thoughts, Hermione began to think about the one eyed man who had introduced himself as Nick Fury. She had a feeling he wasn't a man to be messed around with. Or lied to. Hermione sighed again. There went her alibi that she was a normal British person who had bought some strange things at an old antique store.

Her thoughts changed direction once again.

Even though Hermione knew that her stay in this small hospital was finally up, she had an inkling that whoever had found her, wasn't quite finished with her just yet. And the thought made her slightly nervous.

They, whoever 'they' were, hadn't returned her bag or her wand, and she wondered just how much Nick Fury actually knew, because obviously, he wasn't as stupid as she had once hoped. Her eyebrows tilted in a slight frown as she thought of the man who had so openly threatened her.

Without warning, the door violently swung open and Hermione turned abruptly to face the door, quickly jumping off the bed. Two men, dressed in black with dark sunglasses covering their eyes, stood at the entrance to the room. "Miss Granger? You're to come with us." Hermione nearly refused to go with them, tempted to apparate right there and then, but something told her to stay, some extra sense, so Hermione reluctantly obliged. She sighed again. She may as well see this one out.

* * *

Steve was irritated. No. More than irritated. Extremely annoyed. He had brought in some girl off the street, and he hadn't been allowed to see her or talk to her. He hadn't even been allowed to look inside the small hospital room that she was being kept in. He was the person who had saved her for goodness sake! Steve shook his head in disbelief. There was really no respect in this modernized world.

Thinking about the brown haired girl, his thoughts suddenly leapt to the abrupt meeting that Nick had called and Steve's brow furrowed in thought. Nick Fury didn't call spontaneous meetings involving all of the Avengers for nothing. His thoughts flickered back to the girl he had saved. It must have something to do with her. After all... he had heard the rumors that had been going around the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

Steve had saved the girl because she had been hurt, and because, to him, she had been a regular innocent citizen who had been very badly injured. _Had been_, he thought wryly to himself. Now, Hermione Granger, (he had only found out her name that morning), the normal citizen who had needed saving, was accused of being some sort of super spy, who carried extremely advanced weapon technology.

He didn't know all of the details yet, but he assumed that that was why Nick Fury had called this meeting. Nick didn't call meetings just to talk about pleasant things. As his thoughts went slowly back to Hermione, and Steve's soft blue eyes steeled. If the girl he had saved was a spy, then she would just have to deal with the consequences, and no one, _no one_, would be able to stop Nick carrying out his necessary ways to deal with spies from other agencies. But then, if the girl was a regular spy, Nick Fury wouldn't have called a meeting.

Suddenly, the door to the meeting room opened and Steve's thoughts scattered as he saw Tony Stark, followed by Thor and Bruce Banner, stride into the room. Tony looking like he owned everything, as per usual, Thor casually walking, a pleasant look on his face and Bruce looking thoughtful; you could almost here the cogs working in Bruce's brain as his thoughts moved at 100km per hour. Tony looked amusedly at Steve, a smirk sitting on the billionaire's lips.

"Ah. I see that Rogers is here already! Good work Captain!" Tony seemed to enjoy taunting Steve. Steve just glared in the direction of the multi billionaire, as Tony continued his teasing. "Have you heard about mobile phones yet? Oh, and how about missiles? You know... the big things that go boom?" Tony chuckled quietly to himself, an amused expression still sitting on his face.

Steve very much wanted to punch Tony extremely hard in the nose. A nice swollen, crooked nose would suit his over enlarged head, but before Steve could throw the punch, the door swung open again to reveal the master archer, Clint Barton, and the fiesty, red-haired spy, Natasha Romanoff.

And then followed the caller of the meeting himself, Nick Fury, wearing a serious expression on his face. He glanced over the room to make sure that everyone was present and then, as usual, got right to the point.

"I assume we all know why we're here?" Nick's gaze passed every single one of them in the room. He didn't wait for a reply to his question. "I'm sure that you've all heard about the girl that Rogers courtiously picked up off the street the other day, Hermione Granger. And I'm quite sure that you will have heard all of the rumours circulating about who she is and where she comes from, and the truth is, is that I don't know, but later today, if all goes well, we will have our necessary answers." Nick paused briefly, allow of anticipation and curiosity passing across his face so quickly that Steve wondered if he had imagined it. "What we do know, however, is that she is different." Nick hesitated, and Tony grabbed at the chance.

"Different?" scoffed Tony. "How _different_ can a regular spy be from every other spy in the world?" His tone was accusing and uncaring.

"Because, Mr Stark," Nick placing a steady gaze on the man who had spoken out, "I'm sure that you remember from the other day that every spy in the world doesn't carry with them indestructible pieces of wood and small beaded bags that block machinery." The whole room hung in a tense sort of silence before Tony, once again, broke it.

"I'm sorry? Look. I know that I was there the other day when we tried to blow up that piece of wood, but to me, it's completely impossible. Nothing on this planet is that unbreakable. Let alone a few pieces of wood". Natsha spoke up, sounding almost amused.

"You know what Stark? There are some things on this planet that are actually better than you, so stop trying to sound so desperate."

* * *

Hermione was lead through a long corridor, but she didn't really pay any attention. Her mind only focusing on who she was doing this. She closed her eyes and sighed; the thoughts of apparating coming back to her, tempting her, once again, to escape the whole mess. Hermione stubbornly pushed the thoughts away. No, she thought sternly to herself. She was going to see this out.

Suddenly the two men in front of her jerked to a sudden stop, and, Hermione, deep in her thoughts nearly banged into one of them. The man looked around and glared at her. Hermione felt a blush spread throughout her cheeks and mentally reprimanded herself. She shouldn't think so much.

Now finally taking notice of her surroundings, Hermione registered that they were at the end of a long hallway, the walls made of steel, and a huge door, also made of steel, loomed in front of them. On the wall beside the massive structure, an intricate looking control panel was set deeply into the wall. The words, 'Access Granted', blinked across the glowing control screen and, as a result, the big door swung silently and swiftly open.

The room behind the door looked small and cold. Monitors and computers hung from the walls, lights flashing brightly, and discreet security cameras tried to conceal themselves in the dark corners. The room looked like it would be normally packed with people, but today, it was completely empty.

"Go on," one of the men said gruffly, and Hermione felt a small push in the small of her back, pushing her gently into the room. She immediately felt uneasy, and looked around cautiously, turning in a slow circle to gather in her surroundings. Her extra senses that she had gained throughout the war tingled madly. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the pane of dark glass stretched across one of the walls. She turned around to face the door in which she had entered, but it swung shut behind her with a slight whooshing sound, trapping her in the small room. Great, she thought bitterly. She was alone, trapped, and being watched.

"Hermione Granger." The sound of her name pounded throughout the room, coming from the speakers that hung on the walls. Hermione whipped her body towards the dark pane of glass and glared through it, knowing that there was a person, or a series of people behind it, watching her every movement. "Take a seat," the same voice echoed. Hermione took the underlying threat in the voice and stiffly pulled up a chair and sat down in it, all the while glaring through the glass.

"Nick Fury. A pleasure to see, no, _hear_ your voice again." Hermione was not going to let herself be controlled by people she didn't know. A chuckling sound came through the speakers, slightly unsettling her.

"You too, Miss Granger. You too."

* * *

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**WriteWithFeeling xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Sorry that this update is a week late, but I hope that it was worth the wait! **

**Thankyou to all of the people who reviewed! I'm so glad that people like this story!**

**As per usual, I don't own the characters from Harry Potter and Marvel.**

* * *

Hermione lazed around on the lone chair that stood in the interrogation room, an amused smile playing at her lips. It had been five minutes since the interrogation had started, and so far, not a word, by both parties, had been said. Hermione glanced on the clock that hung on the wall, and rolled her eyes.

She had been expecting torture, unanswerable questions that drew the horrible and painful truth out of her. She had certainly not been expecting sitting in a chair doing nothing.

Hermione smirked widely. She knew that the endless silence was supposed to unhinge her, make her uncomfortable, but instead, it served to just make her increasingly amused.

Finally, the voice of Nick Fury entered the room, ending the silence.

"Miss Granger, I don't know what you find so amusing about this whole business." There was a deadly edge of steel in his voice. "One of my team finds you on a pathway, in the middle of New York, _seemingly_ out of nowhere. You were found with several broken bones and a massive loss of blood. Additionally to this, you were also found with many burns and cuts all over your body, several of them looking like they had been deliberately inflicted upon you."

Hermione didn't react, but she no longer felt the sense of amusement that she had felt only moments ago. Nick started talking again.

"I don't know about you Miss Granger, but we are going to get answers, and if you respond, we give you the things that you want to know, and if you don't... there might be some unpleasant business heading your way."

Hermione could almost feel the gaze of Nick's one eye boring through the shaded pane of glass, but Hermione didn't lose her composure. She just continued staring through the tinted pane thoguhtfully, considering Nick's speech, before carefully answering. "Well, I don't know about you Nick Fury, but I'm not going to answer any questions of yours at all, but if you give me back what you took from me, I might, perhaps, consider answering your blunt requests."

* * *

Bellatrix apparated a kilometre away from the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, her angry, black hair swarming around her face wildly as the wind tore round her. She looked mad; completely ravaged and devoid of any human soul. A horrible smile touched her face. She had reached her destination. It would only be too easy to apparate into one of the most secure buildings in America. A second later, she disappeared.

* * *

Nick stared through the glass, grinding his teeth in frustration and anger, perfectly seeing and feeling the continuous stare of the supposed _weak_ Miss Granger. Her reaction to his questions had come simply out of the blue.

From what he had been told by the doctors, the girl's mind was fragile. She had been having nightmares every night since she had become conscious, and this, to Nick, was a sign that the girl was weak. Able to be easily broken. But it seemed that she was obviously stronger than what they had previously thought.

* * *

A crack rang throughout the hallway as Bellatrix apparated into the middle of corridor. She didn't know exactly where she was, but anywhere was good. The distant sound of voices sounded to her through the winding metal corridors and Bellatrix abrubtly turned towards the noise, her long black skirt trailing behind her. Come, she thought. Come to me.

* * *

Nick scowled at the girl through the glass, feeling extremely annoyed. She wasn't in the position to be placing bargains, yet she seemed to have him wrapped around his thumb in one short sentence. Nick sighed, about to answer the girl's question, when a frantic sounding message came through on his radio. "All units to area 5! Repeat, all units to area 5! This is a code 3 and not a drill! I repeat, this is a code 3 and not a drill!" Nick's head snapped up at the message.

Nick abrubtly spoke into his radio, abandoning his answer to Hermione. "This is your captain speaking. What the bloody hell is going on."

* * *

Bellatrix laughed maniacally. It had been so easy to kill those 4 hopelessly helpless men, and now to her delight, more and more of them just kept arriving. Another 5 men entered the end of the corridor that she was walking down, and Bellatrix strode openly towards them. The muggles raised their strange weapons, but they were nothing to her superior powers. 5 seconds later, they were all dead.

* * *

Nick listened calmly as agent Neelson began to brief him on the current situation. "Sir, we've had a hostile enter area 5. The hostile seemed, according to the cameras stationed in that area, to appear out of nowhere, without explanation. The hostile has then proceeded to shoot down and kill all men that we've sent to that area." Nick considered his options before answering. Questions wired through his mind. This was the most secure place he knew of! How could someone, obviously armed, enter the building without setting off any alarms. He put his rage at rest before answering calmly to agent Neelson.

"Where is the hostile headed?"

"At this stage, there is no apparent cour-" Agent Neelson suddenly cut off as a hysterical sounding voice echoed loudly throughout the hallways of the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, dominating all other sounds. Complete silence, for a second, reigned over everything.

"Give me Hermione Granger. Give me Hermione Granger or I will hunt you down and kill you all. Give me Hermione Granger and I will spare you. You have 10 minutes to make up your mind." The voice cut off as suddenly as it started.

"Well." Said Nick, glancing towards Hermione, who was now sitting on the edge of her chair. It was obvious that she had heard the voice and what the voice demanded. "This makes things a little more interesting."

* * *

Hermione heard the voice of Bellatrix and a pang of fear went through her body, before it was quickly replaced with a horrible feeling of utter revenge. This was her chance to give Bellatrix all that she deserved. For killing Fred and Ron. For torturing her and so many other muggles. She closed her eyes and exhaled, getting a grip on her emotions. All that was standing in her way was this pane of glass. And Nick Fury.

"Miss Granger. You have some explaining to do." Nick Fury's voice came through on the speakers. Hermione just glared at Nick through the glass, anger welling up inside her. People were dying for goodness sake!

"You want to talk politics while you let this intuder kill all of your men? That's real honour you're showing there." Nick didn't react, and Hermione wanted to kick something before talking again. "So are you going to give me up or what?" The impatience in her voice was clearly heard. That got a brief flicker of surprise from the man standing on the other side of the glass, and Hermione felt a touch of satisfaction. Nick seemed to consider her words carefully.

"Now. I don't know who, or what, for that matter, you are, but this person who has gotten into one of the most secure buildings in the world seems to know." Nick looked Hermione over, who was brimming with impatience. "What I can say though, is that if I let you out of that room, will you come back? If I give you back your things, will you tell us your secrets?" Hermione wanted to scream. He was letting his own selfishness get in the way of him saving his men. Nick seemed to come to a decision mentally, not waiting to hear an answer.

He walked to the door and unlocked it. „My men are dying out there. Save them." The reply was a simple request and the girl who had seemed so fragile before grimly nodded her head. Nick dropped her wand and her beaded bag into her waiting hands. Hermione raced out of the room, just hearing Nick speaking into his radio that was still linked to the young agent, Neelson.

"Tell the Avengers to suit up."

* * *

**What did you think? Good? Bad? Average? Please let me know! **

**I'm very sorry that this is a cliffy and not a very long chapter, but I sincerely promise that it will be longer and more fulfilling for next week! **

**I hope you liked it! **

**WriteWithFeeling xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I'm so unbelievably sorry that this update is so incredibly late, and for keeping all you guys hanging on edge. Again, thanks for all of the fantastic reviewers, favorite's and follows! They make me smile :) I'm glad you all like this story**

**As usual I own nothing except the characters you don't recognise. **

**Just a warning, if you do not like blood or squeamish things, I advise you to not read this chapter :) Otherwise, please enjoy! :D**

* * *

Hermione raced through the corridors, her ragged breathing the only thing ringing throughout the corridors. Her clothes were damp with sweat and she could distantly hear the sounds of a terrible fight in the distance. She distantly heard the maniacal laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange mixing in with the wild sound of shooting guns and the tortured screams of the soldiers. Hermione gripped her wand tightly in her hand, her thoughts circling as she forced herself to run faster.

Hermione sprinted up to a crossroad in the corridors and stopped running, her sides heaving. She glanced around herself frantically, wondering which way to turn. She forced herself to relax and shut out her thoughts. Listening... Waiting... Her patience was rewarded with a scream that echoed loudly through the hallway to the right side, and Hermione immediately knew which way to go. She started running.

* * *

Steve Rogers grabbed his shield and let it hang by his side, the final touch to his suit. He glanced over at Clint and saw the man setting the finishing touches on his bow; a quiver of arrows was already strapped to his back.

Clint looked up and turned to Steve, his blue eyes piercing right back into Steve's. "You ready for this?" Steve exhaled and stared at Clint, a look of grim determination on his face.

"Oh yeah," said Steve. Clint grinned humorlessly in reply.

"Then lets go and meet up with the others and kick some serious ass. Stark's already flying to the site to grab some more info, but apparently there's some crazed woman dressed in black, in the centre of some giant crater that she created!" Clint shook his head in disbelief. "But I'm not so sure that I believe that last part yet, but then, after all I've seen, I don't know why I'm doubting this whole thing."

"Wait... What? She created a crater in the bottom of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s building?" Steve was slightly stunned. A crator? In the centre of the most secure building in America? That was impossible. Steve adjusted the thought wryly. It was apparently possible. Clint caught the tone of Steve's voice.

"Yeah, I know," Clint said grimly. "You'd think that something like that would only happen if the person was like, Hulk's bride-to-be or something, except that the catch is, is that this person seems and _looks_ like a regular, human being. Except for the part that a regular human being wouldn't be a blood thirsty, murderous killing machine and go on killing streaks."

Steve laughed grimly. "I think that that's what scares me the most."

* * *

Natasha gripped her guns nervously. She often didn't feel jittery before any type of job, no matter how grisly or nerve wracking it might be. But after the reports from Stark, some sixth sense told her that this job might get a little more than ugly. Natasha shut her eyes and breathed out silently, forcing her tense muscles to relax.

"You should not worry." The clear voice sounded next to her shoulder and Natasha swung her head around sharply to see the shoulders of Thor. Geez, he was so tall.

Natasha raised her head to see Thor looking down at her. "You are a skilled fighter for a human being and this other human being, although dangerous, is no more than a regular mortal. We will beat this petty human easily." Natasha didn't say anything, but just lowered her head and stared straight ahead, her mouth pursed in a straight line.

"I wish I could say that I agree with you, but then, I'm afraid that I would be lying."

* * *

Hermione rounded the corner... to nearly fall into the edge of a deep crater. Her first instinct was one of complete surprise. What on earth had Bellatrix done to create something like this?

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself to enter the deep crater. Then she smelt it, and she stopped instantly, her blood freezing in her veins. _Was that burnt flesh?_ _And blood?_ Hermione dry retched as the gruesome smell hit her, and she was once again plagued by the question; _What had Bellatrix done? _Hermione forced herself to get a grip. People were dying. Innocent, normal people, and she was just standing there, paralyzed by some smell. She made herself open her eyes, but what she saw made her gasp.

The first thing fell on in the crater, were the bodies. Hermione dry retched again and tried to swallow the bile that rose in her throat. She had seen horrible deaths and gruesome, mangled dead bodies during the Battle of Hogwarts, but that was nothing compared to what lay in front of her.

Men, good soldiers, lay scattered around the edge of the crater. Large amounts of blood were gathering in dark pools around the dead men, their uniforms already soaked through. Cuts and gashes that only the sectumsempra curse could have caused seemed to have torn their bodies to pieces, the horrible wounds leaving large flaps of skin dangling aimlessly. Their bodies were as pale as snow and looked as cold as ice already, and the men who had died with their eyes open had a look of pure terror and horror etched into their faces before they died. Every single man looked the same.

Hermione suddenly felt very exposed.

Hermione turned her head away and closed her eyes, taking another deep breath before she began to edge down the walls of the crater. She was stronger than this. She was _going_ to be stronger. Hermione took the first few steps down the rocky wall gingerly, not sure of whether her movement would cause a mini landslide. But the walls of the giant hole were actually surprisingly stable and Hermione climbed down to the bottom with ease, jumping the last three feet. She landed lightly and immediately went into a crouch to try and conceal herself as best as she could. She was out in the open, and there were no decent hiding places and shelters, except for a few smallish boulders that had tumbled down the sides.

The air down in the crater had the smelt of burnt earth and blood and clouds of dust that hung around in the air, creating a foggy appearance. It was only too clear that an ugly fight had just ended.

Hermione squinted into the dust around herself and analyzed it carefully. It wasn't too thick, but it would be enough cover if she had to blend back into the shadows. Satisfied with this conclusion, Hermione slowly stood up, head cautiously turning around herself.

Once again, Hermione asked herself how Bellatrix could have created such a large hole in the ground. The crater had torn through the layers of concrete slabs that held the entire building in place and went so deep into the earth that when Hermione looked up, through all of the dirt and the dust, she wasn't able to see the path where she had just come down.

Hermione took a cautious step forward and almost jumped as her foot sank through the earth instead of just resting on top of it. Then she realised why, and she mentally berated herself for something that she should have noticed. Water, from the broken pipes cascaded into the crator, creating a horrible, dark sludge that looked sticky and forboding. She pursed her lips. This could definitely be a problem. Of course, she thought, she could just apparate out, but that would alert her enemy to her presence, and that was the last thing that she wanted to do.

She grabbed out her wand and laid it on the palm of her hand. "Point me," she whispered.

* * *

Tony Stark could feel the blood pumping in his veins and the immense feeling of satisfaction as his amazing robot followed his exact movements. "Hey, Jarvis, we got a reading on that crazed woman maniac yet?"

"No, sir, I have obtained no information as of yet."

Tony sighed in frustration. "Well, do we at least know where she is?"

"No sir. It seems that she is evading our detection scans."

Tony felt a spark of surprise. No one could hide from his detection scans. _Especially_ not some mentally unstable woman. "Well, try them again until we get something."

"Yes sir." Suddenly, another voice entered on his intercom system.

"Hey, Stark. You at the scene yet?" It was Clint.

"Yep."

"You see anything?"

"If you count dust and a giant hole in the ground, then no. I don't see anything."

Clint swore over the line. "How can she have just disappeared off all of our cameras, heat scanners..."

"Hmm, I don't know? Maybe she destroyed them!"

"But they've _not _been destroyed_. _We've already checked. Every single damn camera is in perfect condition." Clint's voice was grim. "We've scanned the whole area for heat signatures, movement, the lot! But there's no sign of her, or anyone else..." A dark silence settled over the line as both men realised what this meant. _No heat signatures_. _No movement..._ All of those men that were sent in there, were dead.

Tony's voice was determined over the line. "Send me the first piece of information that you get."

"Will do. And meet us at the section 12 intersection in 10 minutes. Fury wants to debrief us. Apparently there's some more info on this crazed chick." Clint's signal abruptly left the line.

Stark sighed and decided that he would fly one more loop around the crater before turning around.

As Stark flew over the massive crater, he registered the humungous clouds of dust and the unstable looking walls of the thing. How had someone managed to do something like this? Espescially a mentally deranged woman. Stark swept lower, and he felt a deep sadness well up inside him as he saw all of the dead bodies of past soldiers, horribly slain and sickly pale lying motionless in the crator.

Then he saw something else. Something that captured his immediate attention. Was that a girl? Running through the crator? The same one that Rogers had saved?

What the hell?

* * *

Bellatrix lay hidden in the shadows, a barely concealed laugh of malice nearly giving away her position. Her prey was so close. So close that she could smell the mud from her blood penetrate the air.

Then, an ugly snarl grew on Bellatrix's lips. This girl was the last of the Golden Trio. The mudblood had helped to destroy her life. Her and her horrible little friends, Potter and the blood traitor Weasley. At least she didn't have to deal with them. Bellatrix smirked a little, before her expression turned ugly once again.

The mudblood had ruined her own family's prestigous name of Black and aided to help destroy the only person whom she had trusted; the Dark Lord. Bellatrix hissed, a maniacal gleam lighting up her black eyes. Soon... so soon. Just a few metres more and then her revenge would come at last...

* * *

Stark landed heavily, Iron man style, right in front of the girl, who was holding the famous piece of 'indestructible wood' determinedly out in front her. Tony felt a growing urge to laugh. A piece of wood? Seriously? Some people had to get a life.

* * *

_Three metres more. Just three more metres..._

Hermione looked up into the metal eyes of the human robot standing in front of her. She stepped back several paces warily, all the time staring staright into the hard eyes of the robot. The robot strode forward equally to her back pacing. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice sounding much more confident than what she felt. The robot seemed to choke out a laugh before becoming deadly serious.

_Two metres more. Revenge would soon be hers..._

"I want you to get out. No, _need_, you in fact, to get out. Now. This is a place where no civilian should be."Hermione laughed humorlessly. "If I'm a civilian, then what are you? After all, aren't you just a regular civilian under fancy armour?" Hermione took several more steps backwards, her feet squelching in the black mud.

_One more metre. Close... so close..._

„Ouch. No, I'm serious you have to get out befo-„

_Yes... _

Impact.

* * *

**What did you think? Good? Bad? Average? Complaints? Suggestions? Please let me know! **

**I'm really, reeeeeeally sorry about the second cliffhanger and I swear that the next chapter will be the big one that you are all waiting for :) And I also swear that the next chapter will be at least twice as long! :) Once again, I'm so sorry that this update is so late, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! **

**WriteWithFeeling xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! Here it is, the next chapter! (And unfortunately much later than I expected and wanted it to be). *Bangs head on keyboard*. I won't say any long winded excuses, but my life as I once knew has suddenly changed. (I am moving overseas to a country that speaks a foreign language that I have never studied), so I've had to help pack and things. It has been a rather spontaneous decision on behalf of my parents, but I think that it will be a good experience :) So, I am terribly sorry that this update came later than than expected**!

**I want to thank all the people who have reviewed/favorited/followed this story, because it makes my day, every time! I expected this story to be nowhere near as popular as it is and so I am forever indebted to you all! **

**I hope that this chapter meets up to expectations, and if you have any problems, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will do my best to fix them.**

**Once again, the characters and themes in this story belong to Marvel and J.K. Rowling respectively.**

* * *

Hermione and Tony were thrust through the air with a terrifying amount of force and slammed into the wall of the crator. A fountain of dust bellowed upwards, smothering everything, and several large boulders began to tumble slowly down the steep walls. For a whole minute, the crator became eerily silent.

Bellatrix stood in the shadows barely daring to let her excitement get away from her. Her prize... _her prize _was finally in her grasp, and she was down, just like that. She took an excited step forward, but forced herself to slow down. Once she had the mudblood, she would have all of the time in the world. She smiled gleefully. The mudblood's death was not going to be a quick one.

And the silence was suddenly shattered by a bone chilling laugh that cackled through the emptiness, suddenly making the crator seem more dark than before.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Fury shouted. A loud boom had just shook the entire structure of the building. Coulson hurried to his side, all the whle talking into his earphone.

"We're working on it sir! We're working on it!"

"Well, do it quicker!" Fury's voice snapped like a whip. "I want the Avengers in there now!"

"Yes, sir! In fact, they're heading to the site right now to join Tony," Coulson said, before running off and talking into his earphone once more. Fury sighed. He was hoping to every god that he hadn't made the wrong choice with letting that brown haired girl go.

* * *

Hermione stirred uneasily, her eyes fluttering with the beginnings of consciousness. She moaned slightly and shifted her position, her head swimming horribly. Everything ached, and she could feel something metallic and salty in her mouth. She shifted slightly again, a soft moan escaping through her lips. She wanted nothing more than to lay there and rest, and let the peace of darkness overwhelm her senses. She sighed, letting herself slowly begin to succumb to sleep. She was just beginning to feel almost comfortable on the rocky ground when a sudden sense of uneasiness tugged in her mind.

Hermione frowned slightly. Something didn't feel quite right... Hermione searched foggily through her brain. Something was happening... Something was wrong...

It all came flooding back. She had to get out of there now.

Hermione desperately tried to heave herself off the hard ground, but dizziness and pain nearly overcame her. She stumbled clumsily to her knees and forced herself onto her feet, adrenaline the only thing that was keeping her standing. Bellatrix could be anywhere. She raised her hand up to her head and wiped away the sticky substance that clung there. When she withdrew her hand, it was red. Hermione sighed and actually smiled. A tiny bit.

It was just like being with Harry and Ron, finding Horcruxes... Hermione shook her head roughly. clearing it. Now was not the time. She pulled out her wand and held it in front of her. There was so much dust.

* * *

Clint was racing down the hallway, arms and legs pumping; his bow in his hand and his quiver full of arrows slung loosely over his back. He glanced quickly beside him, where Steve was running, his face set in a grim line.

Clint grimaced and turned his gaze back to the hallway in front of him. He felt like he could reach out and capture the tension that lay in the air. The impending mission lay heavy in his mind and he decided that he did not like the feeling of being the one at a disadvantage. His thoughts fleetingly went to Natasha.

He wondered where she was and if she was okay. No. He told himself. She _was_ okay.

* * *

Tony groaned slightly and shifted himself onto his side. His body ached. Tony's eyes flew open. _His body ached. _What the... His suit could protect him from everything. _Everything._

"Shit."

* * *

The Incredible Hulk ran, or rather stomped with huge strides through the building with surprisng speed. Every wall that stood in his way was destroyed. Every human in his path quickly hurried out of it. He had but one mission. To smash and destroy. And he wasn't going to stop until his mission was completed.

* * *

Natasha ran through the tangle of corridors with Thor at her side. She swallowed nervously. Five minutes tops until they reached their destination. She put a hand to her hip, drawing comfort from the weapons that had protected her for so long. Four minutes left. She briefly wondered where Clint was and how he was doing before her mind flew back to the direct task at hand. She wasn't allowed to lose focus.

From what she'd heard, what was down there was more than ugly and she had a feeling she would have to use every one of her skills in order to survive.

She glanced at the tall man running next to her and saw his trusted hammer lying in his left hand. His face looked determined and serious. It was clear he was also thinking of what the next hour would bring. Natasha sighed.

Who wasn't?

* * *

Hermione took a cautious step forward, her wand arm stretched out in front of her. The dust moved in swirling patterns around her, creating patterns, shapes... Hermione felt her breath hitch in her throat. Bellatrix could be anywhere.

Hermione took a deep breath and steadied herself; her head was still reeling from the horrible impact that had happened only moments ago. It was getting darker in the crator, but she had decided that there was no way that she was going to cast any spell. It would give her away.

Hermione took another step forward and her thoughts briefly flicked to her appearance. Hermione suddenly felt a hysterical giggle rise up in her throat. She must look a sight! Her hair, that was now full of dust and blood, hung limply over her shoulders. Her favorite jeans were battered and full of holes and her top looked exactly liked it had during the war; worn, bloody and dirty.

Hermione turned her thoughts back to her task, slightly annoyed that she had let herself become distracted by such silly thoughts.

* * *

Bellatrix frowned for the first time that day. Dust swirled around her, making it hard for her to see. She hadn't expected this. She walked a little more quickly to where she had sent the metal man and the mudblood into the crater's wall. What if the mudblood had escaped? A vicious snarl grew on her lips making her appear even more feral. If she had, then the filthy piece of scum would just have to pay for it.

Bellatrix arrived at the wall of the crater, and nearly let off a howl of anger and frustration. She shot a killing curse at a soldier who was already dead. She hissed in anger. Her prey had escaped.

It was the slight wirring sound that alerted her to another presence. She turned around, her black eyes still flashing in an uncontrollable rage and saw the metal man standing only 5 metres away. The metal man held out his palms before a slightly sarcastic voice said, "Hey, lady. Are you looking for someth-." That was as far as he got before she shot the killing curse at him.

* * *

Tony looked over at the deranged woman standing in front of him, who was holding a wooden stick threateningly out in front of her. Tony sighed inwardly. What was it with these sad people and their sticks? "Hey, lady!" he said. "Are you looking for someth-." A burst of green light shot out in front of him and Tony side stepped it. Just. "I mean, seriously woman. If you're looking for someth-." Another burst of green light. Another side step. The woman hissed something, and judging by her crazed appearance, it wasn't something that complimented him. Tony sighed and mentally shrugged. Another burst of deadly green light came his way. He side stepped it again.

Where was she getting this green light? It was really effective. His mind instinctively started thinking up possibilities. It could be a form of arc reactor energy? Nah. The woman standing in front of him didn't look smart enough to be able to make something as complex as that. The woman stared at him in rage and raised her stick.

Tony did a double take. There was no way that she was producing the green light through a stick. He shrugged. She was just as crazy as she looked. He raised his hand.

* * *

Natasha ran round the final corner. It was time. She pulled her gun out of the holster on her hip and grasped her hands around it. "The Black Widow is in position. Repeat, the Black Widow is in position." She took a deep breath, her complete focus on the mission. She faintly heard a boom echo from the crator and Natasha inwardly winced. That sounded nasty.

* * *

Hermione saw the light before she heard the sounds of fighting. The dust was finally dissipating and she could actually see the crater clearly. Bodies and blood still littered the floor and the ground, and if it was actually possible, there was even more blood soaked into the dirt than before. Hermione shut her eyes fiercely, gritting her teeth. She hadn't been a part of the Golden Trio for nothing. She hadn't been called the smartest witch of her age on a whim.

She had full vision now. She was going to use it. The sound of a sudden explosion made Hermion's eyes slam open. She turned to her left where she saw the remnants of a huge fireball fade away into the air. Her eyes widened slightly. Whoever that metal man was. He had some serious firepower.

* * *

Clint drew in a deep breath and drew his bow, the ends of his arrow lightly touching his cheek. It was vital for him not to lose any concentration. "Hawkeye is in position. Repeat, Hawkeye is in position."

"Copy that Hawkeye. Get ready to enter the site in 5..."

Steve raised his shield and braced himself. "4..."

Thor raised his hammer, a grim, humourless smile touching his face. This human had hurt his friends and the place he called home. This human was going to pay. "3..."

Natasha raised her gun. "2..."

Hulk plowed through the last wall standing in his way. "1..."

"Go."

* * *

Hermione was sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her towards the outline of Bellatrix, dodging the bodies of the fallen men, the dusty air burning in her lungs. The silhouette of a metal man lay smoking on the ground only several metres from where she was running. He wasn't moving. She turned her head back to the path in front of her. She hoped that he was okay.

* * *

Natasha sprinted down to the edge of the crator, adreneline pumping through her veins. She scrambled wildly and if possible, gracefully, down the wall, jumping the last few feet. She landed lightly, eyes darting from side to side. Her gun was held out in front of her, her senses fully alert. "This is the Black Widow radioing in. I am now in the crator and as of yet, there is no fighting that I can see."

"Okay, Black Widow, copy that. Be on your guard... And be careful." Coulson's voice crackled over the headpiece.

The last comment brought a slight smile to her lips. "Will do. Black Widow out." She breathed out. It was quiet. Something which scared the hell out of her, because from what she knew, there was always quiet before the storm. Always.

She began to walk slowly and cautiously, eyes scanning the immediate area. She had heard a boom not too long ago, so surely the fight wasn't too far off. Then she saw the bodies. Blood, men... Natasha gasped slightly. She could only remember this scene too well. She kept walking.

* * *

Clint lightly ran to the crator's edge and cautiously looked down. It wasn't too steep, so he lightly ran down it, the loose dirt creating a small avalanche. Clint inwardly winced. That had been a bit too loud for his liking. He lightly ran forward, his bow was still taught and drawn. He carefully turned around in a full circle, looking at everything, his hawk eyes analysing every piece of rock and stone. Nothing moved. Clint shifted uneasily. It wasn't supposed to be this quiet.

"This is Hawkeye. I have entered the site, but there is so far no sign of activi-" A loud roar suddenly echoed around the whole crater, seeming to shake the very ground. Clint smiled grimly. „This is Hawkeye. There is no sign of activity, but Hulk has entered the site."

"Okay Hawkeye. Proceed with caution."

* * *

Steve was slightly confused. He had been expecting fire, bombs, loud screams from innocent people, but what he hadn't been expecting was silence. Complete and utter and _bone-chilling_ silence. He didn't like it. It made him uneasy. He had entered the crator easily enough, but maybe that was the reason why he felt uneasy. Because it was easy. His eyes narrowed. _Too_ easy. He crept silently forward, his boots making no sound on the rocky ground. It was still slightly dusty.

* * *

Thor, unlike his friends, who crept around stealthily, strode forward confidently, easily jumping down the wall of the crater and striding, with his massive steps, through the crater. He couldn't care less for stealth and quietness. He shrugged mentally. He was going to find the human anyway. The human may as well see him before he would kill the puny thing. His gaze hardened. This person had hurt his friends and the place he called home. And no one hurts his friends.

* * *

**Okay, this chapter was more of a filler because I really needed to get it up, but I hope it was still good anyway. Please let me know what you thought of it, and if you didn't like it, please just tell me, and I will do my best to fix it. Once again, I am terribly sorry that I didn't fulfill my promises from the last chapter and for keeping you guys waiting. The next chapter, finally, will be the action one and I will have it up as soon as I can get it up. Sorry once again,**

**WriteWithFeeling xx **


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